-For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
–Hebrews 4:12
-The clouds poured down water, the heavens resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.
–Psalm 77: 17-19
Last night I was ripped out of sleep by howling-banshee winds, sonic booms shaking the walls, and strobe-light skies.
1:15 AM.
“Ugh...now what?”
WHOOOOOOOSH!!!…BOOM!!!…CRACK!!!
“Eeeeeeek!!!”
After creeping around the house, peeking furtively out every window (was I afraid some funnel cloud would spot me and race over to say “hi?”), I concluded that decamping to the basement was my best option (if any meaningful slumber was going to occur). A quick prayer, “Thanks, Lord. I know You’ll take care of me, no matter what this storm brings.”
Once installed downstairs, I reached for the diversion of the novel on the bedstand, and the Spirit gently tugged at my heart…and my arm…my hand closing over the Bible instead. “Okay,” I smiled as I propped it up on a pillow, “what’ve You got for me?” Sometimes I know where to go; sometimes He has to lead me. I let it fall open…
“I cried out to God for help, I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted.”
Psalm 77.
That whole psalm was the comfort, the hug…the assurance that I needed…because He’s that good…
And He’s ALWAYS on it…not just during a tempest of crisis, but equally over the lesser waves and clouds that unsettle in the quotidian…that whole “He’s in the details” thing. I’ll be puzzling over the latest concern, growing anxious and increasingly troubled, finally tossing that hot potato over to Him…
“What do You think, Lord? Um, wisdom? Insights?…Please?”
And at precisely the perfect moments (because, again, He’s that good)…the nudges come…a podcast pops up…a text arrives…He speaks through someone…and every other verse I study clears away cobwebs to reveal the way forward.
Passages I’ve read before, dozens of times! imbued with a completely new meaning, relevant to my current situation.
The Bible is not a “book.” It is the Word.
The Living Word.
Within those pages is the most beautiful love story ever told…an unending conversation with our faithful Creator, into which we are invited every single day.
Will we accept that invitation?
Revelation 3:20–“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
Will we open the door to Jesus?
(from Jesus Revolution)–“This is truth. This is life. This is God’s Word. Let’s open it together.”
Will we open the Word…and let Him in?